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Liner Notes
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Bringing the Background Vocals
to the Foreground:
A roundtable with vocalists Gabrielle Goodman, Kudison Kai,
and Darcie-Nicole Wicknick
Chaired By Darcie-Nicole Wicknick
Special to MusicBizAdvice.com
Do Background Singers Have a Better Chance for Getting Solo Careers
MBADC: Do
background singers have a better chance for getting solo careers as a rule?
GG: I
wouldn't say that this always true. It depends on who you are singing
background for and how aggressive you are--i.e, CDs in hand and always
connecting with everyone that you meet. You have to be really aggressive to
get from the background to the foreground. This means that you still have to
maintain a career as a solo singer even while you are singing background, or
people will only view you as a background singer. This is what I, and
several of my colleagues, have done.
KK: There are
many successful recording artists who were at one time, successful
background singers. Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Nona Hendryx, Luther
Vandross, Whitney Houston, Sheryl Crow, Patti Austin, and many more. I
don’t think that one has a better chance at getting a solo career from this
job. If it is meant for you and the timing is right, and many other factors
come into play. Working in this area does not assure you an automatic
position into recording artistry. It is a great way to see, with a bird’s
eye view, what goes on in this industry and what it really takes to be a
recording artist. Also, you do meet a lot of people in the industry and
networking is viable.
DW: What
background singing in pro settings DOES prepare you for are stage presence
and comfort, ear training (like Kudisan was mentioning earlier,) exposure to
conducting, and a real picture for what kind of work a solo artist must put
in. And, of course, you gain the added opportunity to be heard by the world
and the Industry. But you really have to be sure you are heard solo by
continuing your own work, because like Gabrielle said, you don’t want to be
viewed exclusively as a back singer. If a solo career is your path, make
time in your schedule for your own shows. Otherwise, you can get caught up
in the back vocal vortex and before too long, ten years are gone.
More...
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